Search operation to track down terrorist groups extends to Kathua
STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar/JAMMU: Police in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday attached seven properties belonging to terror handlers based in Pakistan, officials said.
After obtaining an attachment order passed by Additional Sessions Court, Baramulla, police attached properties belonging to terror handlers based in Pakistan, officials said. The seven properties was 1 acre and six marlas in total, they said.
Pak intruder shot dead along IB in Samba
Samba: A Pakistani intruder was shot dead by Border Security Force personnel along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday evening, officials said.
The intruder was fired upon by the BSF personnel when he ignored repeated warnings and tried to sneak into this side from across the border around 8.20 pm, they said.
They said the incident took place near Border Outpost Regal and reinforcements have been rushed to the area for a thorough search operation.
They identified the terror handlers as Sajad Ahmad Bhat, Irshad Ahmad Khan, Gulla Mochi, Mohd Aslam Khan, Mohd Beigh, Khalid Mir and Rafiq Ahmad Bakerwal, all residents of Uri area of the district.
The police action was taken under CrPC Section 88 in connection with a case registered in Boniyar police station in 2008.
SSP Baramulla Amod Nagpure said police were taking stringent action against persons involved in misleading the youth to join terror ranks. “We are taking strict action against terror handlers who are operating from Pakistan. Yesterday, we seized properties in Uri on court orders. These properties belong to seven terror handlers who are based in Pakistan,” he added.
Meanwhile, security agencies have widened the ambit of the search operation to Kathua district to track down two groups of terrorists involved in the killing of a village defence guard in Udhampur district.
A Village Defence Guard (VDG) was killed in a brief encounter with terrorists in remote Panara village in Chochru Gala heights early Sunday, following which a hunt was launched jointly by the police, army, and CRPF.
The search operation, which entered the fourth day on Wednesday, is ongoing in Basantgarh, Bani and Seoj areas of Udhampur and Kathua districts, officials said, adding there has been no fresh contact with the fleeing terrorists.
As per sources, the movement of one group has been reported in the upper reaches of Udhampur district while the other group is seen to have moved towards Bani, Daggar and Kindli areas of Kathua district.
The movement of one of the groups was picked up from Allo Top and Seoj high altitude dense forested areas in Udhampur, they said.
More security personnel have deployed in these areas to strengthen the cordon in the large high-altitude forest belt between Udhampur and Kathua, they said.
Apart from the use of choppers, UAVs, and drones for surveillance, additional forces have been moved into these areas to intensify the efforts to track down and neutralise the terrorists, they said.
Several persons have been detained and are being questioned, they said.
On Monday, Additional Director General of Police (Jammu zone) Anand Jain said two groups of terrorists are believed to be present in the area after they recently infiltrated from across the border.
He said the strength of the two groups, as per preliminary investigation, is between four and six and the security forces are working on various inputs to flush them out. According to official sources, the terrorists had reached Basantgarh from adjoining Kathua district after managing to sneak into this side from across the border and were heading for Chenab Valley when they were confronted by the police and VDG members. The Bani-Basantgarh route from Kathua used to be a well-defined route for terrorists to Doda and Kashmir after their infiltration along the International Border (IB) until two decades ago.
